Which Connecticut laws address human trafficking for sex or labor?
These public acts address include laws related to human trafficking, including sex trafficking.
2017 Public Act 17-32 (PDF) - An Act Concerning Human Trafficking
2016 Public Act 16-71 (PDF) - An Act Concerning Human Trafficking
- A person must be eighteen of age or older to be guilty of prostitution
- State attorneys and local law enforcement must document training, investigations of missing children, trafficking referrals, trafficking cases referred for prosecution, etc.
- Hotels, motels, inns, and similar lodging must provide trafficking training and awareness campaigns to all employees annually
- Hotels, motels, inns, and similar lodging must keep guest transactions and receipts for at least 6-months
2015 Public Act 15-195 (PDF) - An Act Strengthening Protections for Victims of Human Trafficking
- Expands the crime of human trafficking by broadening the conditions under which the crime is committed when the victim is a minor (under age 18)
- Requires the Department of Public Health (DPH) to provide human trafficking victims the same services it must provide certain sexual assault victims under existing law
- Expands the conditions under which a court must order the erasure of a juvenile's police and court records
- Expands the list of crimes, including human trafficking, for which wiretapping may be authorized
- Specifically allows the Office of Victim Services (OVS), under certain circumstances, to waive the two-year limitation on crime victim compensation applications for minors who are victims of human trafficking
2014 Public Act 14-186 (PDF) - An Act Concerning the Department of Children and Families and the Protection of Children
- DCF provides services to human trafficking victims classified as “uncared for”
- DCF provides training to law enforcement on human trafficking of minors
- Creation of multidisciplinary teams to work with human trafficking cases
2013 Public Act 13-166 (PDF) - An Act Concerning Sexual Exploitation and Trafficking in Persons
Aligns with the federal Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA):
- It’s a class C felony if the person knew or reasonably should have known at the time that such other person was either younger than the age of eighteen
- Forfeiture properties
- Affirmative defense for minors
- Vacating records
- Public awareness and prevention
- Ongoing monitoring of efforts to combat trafficking
- Mandatory data reporting
- Statewide oversight and monitoring body
2012 Public Act 12-141 (PDF) - An Act Concerning Commercial Sexual Exploitation of a Minor
This new statute defines commercial sexual exploitation of a minor as a person who knowingly purchases advertising (ad) space for an ad for a commercial sex act that includes a depiction of a minor. Commercial sexual exploitation of a minor is a class C felony.
2011 Public Act 11-180 (PDF) - An Act Concerning Notification by the Deparment of Children and Families When a Youth is Arrested for Prostitution and Out-of-State Placements of Children and Youth.
The law provides in part that upon the arrest of any youth by an officer for a violation of section 53a-82, the officer shall report suspected abuse or neglect to the Department of Children and Families in accordance with the provisions of sections 17a-101to 17a-101d. Those reports should be made to the DCF Careline at 1-800-842-2288.
2010 Public Act 10-115 (PDF) - An Act Providing a Safe Harbor for Exploited Children
The legislature amends Conn. General Statutes Section 53a-82 to state that a person must be sixteen years of age or older to be guilty of prostitution, and in any prosecution of a person sixteen or seventeen years of age, there shall be a presumption that the actor was coerced into committing such offense by another person.